Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546781
CLYDE Caruana has admitted giving social partners "a frank assessment" of government's ex- penditure restrictions, insisting he will "soon" repeat in public what he said behind closed doors. Nonetheless, the finance minis- ter would not confirm the words he used during a meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development on 11 Sep- tember. Several members of the MCESD, who were granted anonymity to speak freely about confidential matters, said the minister was clear about the constraints he faced as a result of the high- er outlay on energy and fuel subsidies. "The minister told us in no un- certain words that we, the social part- ners, 'do not know' what is happening around us and that we have our 'head in the clouds'," a person present for the 11 Sep- tember meeting said. Caruana reportedly told MCESD members not to go to him with wish lists because he had "nothing to disburse". When contacted, Caruana de- scribed his presentation to the MCESD as "a frank assess- ment" of the current situation and how things were expect- ed to develop in the next couple of months. However, Caruana in- sisted that he will be re- peating in public, what he said behind closed doors. "In the coming days when I present the pre-budget document, I will be giving an equal- ly blunt public presentation with the same detail and additional numbers," he told MaltaToday. "The pre-budget presentation will outline what people and the so- cial partners can expect from the budget," Caruana said. Asked whether the €1,000 super bonus pledged in the election—an outlay of €200 million—will fea- ture in the budget for next year, Caruana would only say: "In the pre-budget presentation, I will quell speculation surrounding en- ergy subsidies and price stability, and also address the expectations emanating from the electoral pro- gramme." YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2026 • ISSUE 1404 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY maltatoday €2.20 Controlling the uterus AI hallucination Big business, politics, proximity, agility and corruption Joanna Delia from Doctors for Choice says restrictive abortion law is forcing women to hide The courtroom is the one place where AI hallucination can become dangerous INTERVIEW MT2 PAGES 2-3 The naked emperor PAGES 15-17 Clyde's 'frank assessment', a missing reel and the expenditure squeeze CONTINUES PAGES 8-9 KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Maritime fines racket: TM official to be charged MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt A Transport Malta official within the authority's Mari- time Enforcement Unit (MEU) is expected to be arraigned over a fines racket spanning several years. Kenneth Spiteri is set to face charges surrounding his al- leged involvement in a corrup- tion scandal linked to maritime fines. He is to be arraigned fol- lowing an investigation by the Financial Crimes Investigation Department (FCID). Speaking to MaltaToday through his lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri, Spiteri denied any wrongdo- ing. Sources who spoke to this newspaper said that Spiteri is still employed as a TM official, although he has been on sick leave for a number of months. The authority would not con- firm Spiteri's status within TM. CONTINUES PAGE 2 Finance Minister Clyde Caruana